


Operation Puppy

by weasleyspotter



Series: Ward x Simmons Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fitz and Skye are mentioned in passing really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-14
Updated: 2013-11-14
Packaged: 2018-01-01 11:22:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1044244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weasleyspotter/pseuds/weasleyspotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jemma suggests that Grant get a puppy for his nieces that ends up almost adopting a puppy with Grant herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation Puppy

**Author's Note:**

> batsonthebrain asked for: Ward/Simmons - Puppy
> 
> I already posted this on tumblr, but I thought I'd post it here too, since it's over 1000 words.

i.

She suggests the idea more out of exasperation and doesn’t actually expect him to think it’s a good idea.

"I was kidding," she says half out of fear that he wasn’t being sarcastic when he thought her idea was a "great idea".

"It’s still a good idea," he says with a shrug, "Kendall and Danielle have always wanted a dog."

"And don’t you think there’s a reason they haven’t gotten one," she says seriously. "My mother and father would have furious if my uncle bought me a puppy without asking them first."

"So I’ll ask them," he brushes off. And she lets him because she knows that they’ll shoot him down.

ii.

As it turns out, his brother agrees to the plan.

How was she suppose to know that Agent Grant Ward would actually think it’s a good idea to get his nieces a puppy for Christmas? And because she now feels responsible for the life that he’s about to bestow on his unsuspecting brother’s family, she tags along to make sure he knows what he’s doing. 

Fitz tries to call their plan Operation Puppy, and normally she’d jump in along with the plan, but she can’t find the heart to when she feels like this is going to go horribly wrong.

She does a bit of research and discovers this rescue center with a whole litter of abandoned puppies. She talks Skye into helping her and they research the different breeds (Skye tries to take it a step further by looking into the puppies supposed parentage, but she’s squashes the idea).

Skye offers to visit the place with them. “I’d love to see my S.O. all uncomfortable with all the love that comes along with puppies.”

Jemma struggles to push down the urge to defend Ward. He’s honestly not that bad. He’s just got walls, like all of them. He’s just a little more prickly with his walls, that’s all. “Thanks, aren’t you supposed to train with Coulson that day?”

"Yeah," Skye says with a roll of her eyes. "I swear at this rate I’m probably going to die from exhaustion before I become a SHIELD agent. I should have just worked in the lab like you two."

With a smile Jemma lets Skye continue to rant about the injustices of training to be a field agent. The topic of Ward and puppies long forgotten.

iii.

They end up at the rescue center on a Saturday, after she promises to Fitz to take a lot pictures of Ward with the puppies (but not unintentionally “forgets” her camera). She expects him to squirm and fidget among the puppies but he surprises her entirely. 

He sits on the floor and pulls her down with him. He gets right into the thick of the action, letting the puppies jump all over him. He holds out the palm of his hand for them to lick and smell until they get bored and decide his face is way more interesting. 

She’s the one who fidgets as the curious puppies run around her in circles. She cringes slightly as one of the more curious ones decides to wiggle his way into her open lap. The puppy looks up her with adorable black eyes and she can feel herself melt just a bit. Slowly she raises her hand and brushes it tentatively over the top of the puppy’s head, who nearly shivers with anticipation.

"I think that’s the one." She looks up at the sound of Ward’s voice. He’s looking down at her with a soft expression that takes her off guard. "For Kendall and Danielle, I mean."

"Yeah," she sighs back pulling the puppy closer to her chest, "this one is definitely a keeper."

He doesn’t mention her earlier hesitancy which she’s grateful for. She loves dogs, she’s just not used to them. “I almost wish,” she begins and trails off as quickly as she begins.

"That you can just keep her?" Ward finishes.

"Yeah."

"Maybe if Coulson didn’t have such a strict no-pets policy." He’s humoring her, and she appreciates the gesture so she plays along.

"Well I could always smuggle her aboard. She’ll sleep in my room. She won’t make a peep, will you?" She looks down at the puppy who stares up at her as if pretending to understand the conversation happening around her.

"And if you get made?"

"How could Coulson refuses this?" She holds the puppy in front of her face, making Ward laugh. "Besides if he tells me to get rid of her, I’ll just let her sleep in your room."

"Yeah, right." He snorts, even though he knows it’s true. "She’s not sleeping in my bed." 

"Really? Because I have a feeling she’s going to be wrapped around your finger."

"Probably because I’ll be the one feeding her. You’ll be too engrossed in your newest science project."

"Well I’ll be taking care of her bathroom activities so we’re even," she says indignantly. 

"As long as we’re not naming her Sparkles."

"Sparkles," she sticks out her tongue, "No I was thinking Xena, you know the warrior princess?" 

"No way," he stresses, just as the lady from the rescue center peeks her head into the room. 

"How are you both doing?" She asks, bringing them both back to reality in a instant. 

"Fine," Ward answers back first. "Give us a few more minutes." 

"Please," she adds quickly, so they don’t seem rude, as the lady ducks out. "So have you picked one for your nieces," she asks, trying to brush over the fact that she just nearly adopted a puppy with Ward.

He ends up picking out the puppy that they had both grown a soft spot for. She’d been almost upset, but reminded herself that the puppy was going to a good home. One she definitely couldn’t provide on the Bus. But the idea sticks with her, the idea of having a puppy with Ward. As outlandish as it is, the more she thinks about it, the more she wants it.

iv.

They don’t get a puppy, once they get together.

They’re not that cliche, and she actually forgets about it. Because there’s other things to consider when she’s with Grant, like making sure they both don’t die.

But one day, when they’re both off the bus, and she finds a job at a research lab and he finds a job in private security, he thinks about it. Because they both have their own house, with a nice backyard, and it’s a little empty. So when Christmas comes along, he goes to the rescue center that they visited years ago and picks out a puppy that reminds him of her, because he is that cliche.

Hiding it from her turns out to be a pain in his ass, because Jemma seems to be around him every time he needs to do something related to the puppy. On Christmas morning he goes and picks up the puppy. He places a bow on her neck and picks out a dog tag with the name Xena.

She doesn’t admit to anything, but waking up to that puppy makes it the best Christmas ever.


End file.
